Antoine Garaby de La Luzerne
Encyclopedia
Antoine de Garaby, sieur de Pierrepont, de La Luzerne et d'Étienville (28 October 1617 – 4 July 1679) was a French moralist.
Garaby de La Luzerne was born in the family manor of La Besnardière at Montchaton
near Coutances
. He was the son of Bernard de Garaby and Françoise de Pierrepont, the sister of Hervé de Pierrepont, commander of the city and fortress of Granville
for the king. Although diminutive, unattractive and malformed, his keen intelligence, amenities, and the subtleties of his mind, nonetheless made him an attractive character for nature had endowed him with the qualities of mind and heart while denying him physical beauty.
Garaby received his early education at home, under Francis Dyens, to whose memory he dedicated two couplets and a few lines of Latin prose. He then went on to study eloquence at the University of Caen, under Professor Antoine Halley
with whom he was to remain in friendly terms until the end of his life. Amongst his classmates were, the theologian, orator, poet and humanist, Guillaume Marcel and Georges de Brébeuf
, the translator into French of Lucan
's Pharsalia
.
Graced with a keen taste for literature
, he started to compose, soon after finishing his classical studies. Huet commented him that "He loved literary men with a passion [and] he made them into his major friends." Aside from Huet himself, Garaby was acquainted with several scholars of his time, like Voiture
, Chapelain
et Ménage
, Sarrazin
, Moisant de Brieux
, Jacques de Callières, Nicolas Bourbon
, Pierre Halley, Jacques Du Chevreuil, etc.
Described as "a kind of Norman Montaigne
", Garaby did not apply himself, nor did he determine to become a successful man of letters. Rather than being a career, literature was simply the exercise of the gift of intelligence, the taste and imagination of the gentleman who only sought the pleasures of study for its own sake. Huet concurred: "He had more genius for letters than achievement. For although he possessed enough Latin, he did not have much use of the ancient writers, and his active mind made composing easier and more pleasant than reading and polishing. Hence one finds more fertility than purity, clarity and elegance in his Latin prose collection of Christian, political and moral sentiments or in his French poetry."
Garaby remained with his father on their property of Trois-Monts
, fairly close to Caen, long enough for his former professor to dub it his Parnassus. There he composed his French and Latin poems and his satire
s. Garaby's name is also associated with the foundation, along with Samuel Bochart
, Pierre-Daniel Huet and Jean Regnault de Segrais, of the Royal Academy of Belles-Lettres of Caen
.
After Hervé de Pierrepont, Garaby's maternal uncle, died on 18 August 1662, he inherited his property and names, to be called from then on "Garaby de Pierrepont de La Luzerne Étienville". This plenteous bequest made him think of entering into matrimony. By and through Madame de Matignon's benevolent intervention, Garaby soon wedded Anne de Vassé, of an ancient and noble family in Maine
. Antoine Halley wrote, on this occasion, a wedding song celebrating the bride's beauty, spirit, and dowry. No children came of this union.
Having established his home in Étienville
, where he spent the last years of his life. Huet also described Garaby de La Luzerne as "true and faithful to the duties of friendship, generous and kind, and very good company." Upon his death on 4 July 1679 in L'Isle-Marie
, at the age of sixty-two, he was buried in the middle of the choir of the Étienville church. One of his descendants, the abbé de Garaby, a former professor of philosophy at the College of Saint-Brieuc, and author of several books of philosophy and morality, gave Father Leloup, the curé of Étienville, a small marble plaque engraved with the following praise of his forebear:
Garaby de La Luzerne was born in the family manor of La Besnardière at Montchaton
Montchaton
Montchaton is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France.-Heraldry:...
near Coutances
Coutances
Coutances is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France.-History:Capital of the Unelli, a Gaulish tribe, the town took the name of Constantia in 298 during the reign of Roman emperor Constantius Chlorus...
. He was the son of Bernard de Garaby and Françoise de Pierrepont, the sister of Hervé de Pierrepont, commander of the city and fortress of Granville
Granville
-People:As a surname,Granville may refer to:* Andrew Granville , British mathematician* Arthur Granville , Welsh footballer* Danny Granville , English footballer...
for the king. Although diminutive, unattractive and malformed, his keen intelligence, amenities, and the subtleties of his mind, nonetheless made him an attractive character for nature had endowed him with the qualities of mind and heart while denying him physical beauty.
Garaby received his early education at home, under Francis Dyens, to whose memory he dedicated two couplets and a few lines of Latin prose. He then went on to study eloquence at the University of Caen, under Professor Antoine Halley
Antoine Halley
Antoine Halley was a French professor and poet.Halley was born at Bazenville near Bayeux. A professor of belles-lettres and Principal of the Collège du Bois, at the University of Caen, he succeeded Antoine Gosselin and distinguished himself from the age of twenty-two, by his eloquence and the...
with whom he was to remain in friendly terms until the end of his life. Amongst his classmates were, the theologian, orator, poet and humanist, Guillaume Marcel and Georges de Brébeuf
Georges de Brébeuf
Georges de Brébeuf was a French poet and translator best known for his verse translation of Lucan's Pharsalia which was warmly received by Pierre Corneille, but which was ridiculed by Nicolas Boileau in his Art poétique....
, the translator into French of Lucan
Lucan
Lucan is the common English name of the Roman poet Marcus Annaeus Lucanus.Lucan may also refer to:-People:*Arthur Lucan , English actor*Sir Lucan the Butler, Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend...
's Pharsalia
Pharsalia
The Pharsalia is a Roman epic poem by the poet Lucan, telling of the civil war between Julius Caesar and the forces of the Roman Senate led by Pompey the Great...
.
Graced with a keen taste for literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
, he started to compose, soon after finishing his classical studies. Huet commented him that "He loved literary men with a passion [and] he made them into his major friends." Aside from Huet himself, Garaby was acquainted with several scholars of his time, like Voiture
Vincent Voiture
Vincent Voiture , French poet, was the son of a rich merchant of Amiens. He was introduced by a schoolfellow, the count Claude d'Avaux, to Gaston, Duke of Orléans, and accompanied him to Brussels and Lorraine on diplomatic missions.Although a follower of Gaston, he won the favour of Cardinal...
, Chapelain
Jean Chapelain
Jean Chapelain was a French poet and writer.-Biography:Chapelain was born in Paris. His father wanted him to become a notary; but his mother, who had known Pierre de Ronsard, had decided otherwise...
et Ménage
Gilles Ménage
Gilles Ménage was a French scholar.He was born at Angers, the son of Guillaume Ménage, king's advocate at Angers, where Gilles was born....
, Sarrazin
Jean François Sarrazin
Jean François Sarrazin , or Sarasin, was a French author.-Biography:Sarrazin was born at Hermanville, near Caen, the son of Roger Sarasin, treasurer-general at Caen....
, Moisant de Brieux
Jacques Moisant de Brieux
Jacques Moisant de Brieux was a French poet and historian.Born at Caen in an aristocratic Huguenot family on 13 May 1611, Moisant de Brieux had Antoine Halley as his first preceptor before continuing his studies in the best Protestant institutions of his time...
, Jacques de Callières, Nicolas Bourbon
Nicholas Bourbon (the younger)
Nicolas Bourbon was a French clergyman and neo-Latin poet. He was elected the second occupant of Académie française seat 29 in 1637....
, Pierre Halley, Jacques Du Chevreuil, etc.
Described as "a kind of Norman Montaigne
Michel de Montaigne
Lord Michel Eyquem de Montaigne , February 28, 1533 – September 13, 1592, was one of the most influential writers of the French Renaissance, known for popularising the essay as a literary genre and is popularly thought of as the father of Modern Skepticism...
", Garaby did not apply himself, nor did he determine to become a successful man of letters. Rather than being a career, literature was simply the exercise of the gift of intelligence, the taste and imagination of the gentleman who only sought the pleasures of study for its own sake. Huet concurred: "He had more genius for letters than achievement. For although he possessed enough Latin, he did not have much use of the ancient writers, and his active mind made composing easier and more pleasant than reading and polishing. Hence one finds more fertility than purity, clarity and elegance in his Latin prose collection of Christian, political and moral sentiments or in his French poetry."
Garaby remained with his father on their property of Trois-Monts
Trois-Monts
-References:*...
, fairly close to Caen, long enough for his former professor to dub it his Parnassus. There he composed his French and Latin poems and his satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
s. Garaby's name is also associated with the foundation, along with Samuel Bochart
Samuel Bochart
Samuel Bochart was a French Protestant biblical scholar, a student of Thomas Erpenius and the teacher of Pierre Daniel Huet...
, Pierre-Daniel Huet and Jean Regnault de Segrais, of the Royal Academy of Belles-Lettres of Caen
Académie des Sciences, Arts et Belles-Lettres de Caen
The Académie des Sciences, Arts et Belles-Lettres de Caen was founded in Caen by Jacques Moisant de Brieux in 1652.The Académie de Caen was the first academy of literature to be founded in France, after the French Academy...
.
After Hervé de Pierrepont, Garaby's maternal uncle, died on 18 August 1662, he inherited his property and names, to be called from then on "Garaby de Pierrepont de La Luzerne Étienville". This plenteous bequest made him think of entering into matrimony. By and through Madame de Matignon's benevolent intervention, Garaby soon wedded Anne de Vassé, of an ancient and noble family in Maine
Maine (province)
Le Maine is one of the traditional provinces of France . It corresponds to the old county of Maine, with its center, the city of Le Mans.-Location:...
. Antoine Halley wrote, on this occasion, a wedding song celebrating the bride's beauty, spirit, and dowry. No children came of this union.
Having established his home in Étienville
Étienville
Étienville is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France....
, where he spent the last years of his life. Huet also described Garaby de La Luzerne as "true and faithful to the duties of friendship, generous and kind, and very good company." Upon his death on 4 July 1679 in L'Isle-Marie
Picauville
Picauville is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France.-Heraldry:-World War II:After the liberation of the area by Allied Forces in early June 1944, engineers of the Ninth Air Force IX Engineering Command began construction of a combat Advanced Landing Ground to the...
, at the age of sixty-two, he was buried in the middle of the choir of the Étienville church. One of his descendants, the abbé de Garaby, a former professor of philosophy at the College of Saint-Brieuc, and author of several books of philosophy and morality, gave Father Leloup, the curé of Étienville, a small marble plaque engraved with the following praise of his forebear: